Missing Iraqi explosives fuel campaign rhetoric
Candidates storm showdown states, five on Wednesday
 |  Kerry and Bush are campaigning hard as the election season draws to a close. |
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 What's the chance of another Election 2000?
 Bush addresses the hundreds of tons of missing explosives.
 Voter expectations regarding taxes and social security.
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(CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry hammered away Wednesday at the Bush administration's handling of a report that tons of explosives were missing in Iraq, and President Bush accused his rival of making "wild charges" without knowing the facts.
The candidates stumped in five states with 75 electoral votes -- just over a quarter of the 270 needed to win the November 2 election.
Bush campaigned in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. Kerry visited Iowa and Minnesota and returned to Iowa for a second visit before spending the night in Ohio. (Showdown states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota)
In 2000, out of that group, Bush won only Ohio. Recent polls show the race is close in each state. (Special Report: America Votes 2004, Poll tracker)
It was reported Monday that the interim Iraqi government earlier this month told the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog organization, that 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives were missing from a storage facility south of Baghdad.
In a letter dated October 10, the interim government blamed "the theft and looting of the governmental installations due to lack of security" during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. (Full story)
The explosives, considered powerful enough to demolish buildings and detonate nuclear warheads, were well known before the war and had been sealed by U.N. inspectors, the IAEA said.
The Pentagon has said that the explosives were probably removed from the depot before the war started on March 19, 2003, but also acknowledges there was a window of about six weeks when it was possible for the stockpile to have been stolen. (Full story)
In a speech Wednesday in Sioux City, Iowa, Kerry called the disappearance a "growing scandal" and accused the White House of trying to "dodge and bob and weave in their usual effort to avoid responsibility."
"The Bush administration first tried to convince the American people that this was not a big deal -- not a big deal that 380 tons of high-grade explosives were now likely in the hands of terrorists and insurgents," Kerry said.
"Then, the White House shifted and they said that officials guarding explosives dumps was not really a high priority -- but guarding the Iraqi Oil Ministry was.
"As more information was revealed in the press, the White House switched to their most comfortable position -- the situation was bad but it was not their responsibility," Kerry continued.
"Vice President Cheney, who is becoming the chief minister of disinformation, he echoed that it's not the administration's fault and even criticized those who raised the subject."
Kerry reiterated the message later in Rochester, Minnesota.
Bush addressed the report for the first time during a speech in Lititz, Pennsylvania.
"Senator Kerry this week seemed shocked to learn that Iraq was a dangerous place full of dangerous weapons," Bush said.
"But after all, that's why we're there. Iraq was a dangerous place run by a dangerous tyrant who had a lot of weapons.
"The senator is making wild charges about missing explosives when his top foreign policy adviser admits, 'We do not know the facts.' Think about that," Bush said.
"The senator is denigrating the action of our troops and commanders in the field without knowing the facts. Unfortunately, that's part of the pattern of saying anything to get elected."
Bush said that the military was investigating what happened to the explosives.
Race remains close
The race remains too close for either party to feel confident, with Bush holding 2 percentage point lead over Kerry, according to CNN's average of six national polls.
The average has Bush at 49 percent with Kerry at 47 percent.
Polls also indicated the race to be close in several key states Wednesday.
The candidates were practically tied among voters interviewed in Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota and Ohio.
Polls in Michigan, New Hampshire and New Jersey indicated respondents were leaning toward Kerry, but the race remained extremely tight.
Bush had a narrow lead among voters interviewed in Arkansas, Iowa, New Mexico and Wisconsin.
In Pennsylvania, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Wednesday evening indicated Kerry had a narrow lead among voters interviewed, but it was still within the poll's margin of errorr of 4 percentage points.
Kerry had the support of 50 percent of likely voters who responded, compared to 47 percent who favored Bush.
In the broader group of registered voters, the margin was narrower, with respondents split between Kerry with 49 percent and Bush with 46 percent.
The poll, conducted Saturday through Tuesday, interviewed 807 registered voters, including 670 who indicated they were likely to vote in the election. (Pennsylvania poll)
Domestic debate
In his Sioux City speech, Kerry said Bush had failed as commander in chief and "has failed middle class families with almost every choice he's made."
"We need a fresh start. Because the truth is, middle-class families can't afford four years of a Bush economy," Kerry said.
Kerry accused Bush of rewarding companies that shifted jobs overseas, allowing HMOs and drug companies to make huge windfall profits and raiding the Social Security trust fund to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
Bush, meanwhile, made repeated pleas for the votes of Democrats.
Bush was joined in Pennsylvania by Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who delivered a blistering attack on his party at the Republican National Convention. (Miller: Democrats' thinking is 'warped')
"He's joined by millions of other Democrats across the country who are supporting our ticket," the president said.
"I want to speak directly to the Democrats. I'm a proud Republican, but I believe my polices appeal to many Democrats," Bush said. "In fact, my opponent is running away from some of the great traditions of the Democratic Party.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
